Under the Shadow of the Moon
by xstormwolf
Summary: Sacrifices are made, yet things lost are also regained. Under the shadow of the moon, everything changes and Kakashi and Obito are about to learn just how much. KakashixObito.
1. Sacrifices

**hey, thanks for checking out this story!**

**this is my first ever naruto fic so please be merciful...**

**kakashi is my all-time favorite character, and since I don't like any pairings with him in the present, I've decided to go back to the past! KakashiObito rules!**

**this starts in the middle of the kakashi gaiden, as i haven't changed anything that happened in the beginning.**

**however, it is AU so don't be sending me any reviews that tell me that this never happened in the manga. **

**enjoy!**

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"I believe that the White Fang was a true hero!"

Kakashi stared at his teammate as the Uchia continued. "In the ninja world, those who break the rules are called 'trash'…but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash! You can do what you want, but I'm going to rescue Rin!"

The white-haired teen watched the fan-shaped symbol on Obito's back disappear further and further away into the distance.

"_I believe that the White Fang was a true hero!" _Obito's words ran through Kakashi's head. _"Those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash!"_

Kakashi shook his head to clear it. Then, with a roll of his eyes, the masked teen leapt into the trees.

After all, the crybaby would mess it all up if he was on his own…

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Obito gazed into the dark cave, gathering up his courage.

"Okay! Let's do this!" he whispered.

"Do what?" jeered the Iwa nin as he materialized out of the stone in front of Obito. The chuunin spun around, though even as he did so, he knew that he wouldn't be able to defend himself in time…

Suddenly, a silver streak passed across Obito's vision, and the Iwa nin fell, blood spilling out of him as he hit the ground.

"Kakashi…"

"Well I couldn't leave it all to you, now could I?" smirked the jonin.

"Silver hair and that white chakra blade…impossible…you…Konoha's White Fang?" gasped the fallen ninja.

"This blade is a memento of my father." replied Kakashi, as he leveled it for another attack.

"I see…" The injured Iwa nin said, as he performed hand seals and vanished into the stone.

"Crap!" Obito hissed. "Where'd that bastard go?"

The two Konoha nin slowly spun in a circle, trying to pinpoint their enemy.

"His scent's been completely removed…"Kakashi said as he sniffed the air. Then his eyes widened. "Obito! Behind you!"

He pushed Obito away as the attack that should have gone into Obito's back hit Kakashi in the side. Obito gasped as the blade sunk deep into the white-haired boy's skin. The Iwa nin growled in exasperation before vanishing again.

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"Kakashi!"

Kakashi placed his hand over his wound, feeling the blood run through his fingers. It was deep but not life-threatening as long as he stop the bleeding. "The enemy is skilled…he's already gotten rid of the kunai with my blood on it."

Obito nodded, tears spilling from his eyes.

"Dirt in your eye again?" Kakashi scoffed. "Shinobi don't cry and I'm not dead yet. Control yourself and don't let your guard down." He hoped that Obito would stop crying and get a move on or he would get them both killed.

Obito nodded again, as he straightened up. His eyes were closed as he rubbed away the tears, and when he opened them, they shone with new resolve. And something else.

"Obito…you!" Kakashi whispered as he recognized the red and black markings that adorned his teammate's eyes. The Sharingan.

"That's right!" Obito said, thrusting his kunai forwards into the seemingly empty air. "I can see the movement of your chakra—you're mine!" The Iwa nin fell to the ground, dead.

Kakashi nodded as he wrapped the bandages from the medical kit that Rin gave him around his injured side. "Let's go."

The two headed towards the middle of the cave where Rin was being held.

"Kai!"Kakashi called as he broke the genjutsu that held her. Obito beamed at Rin as she opened her eyes. "Kakashi! Obito!"

"That's right! We came to rescue you!" Obito said happily.

"Quiet!" hissed Kakashi. "We only got one of the Iwa nin. There's still one more."

"Correct," came the voice of the last shinobi. "Just what I'd expect from the White Fang's son." Then, he placed his hand on the ground. "Doton! Iwa Yado Kuzushi!" The cave ceiling began to collapse.

"Crap!" cried Obito. As Rin was still disorientated from the genjutsu, he grabbed her hand and started running, Kakashi at his side. However, before they could reach the cave entrance, the Iwa nin appear before them.

"Not so fast," he smirked. "Though I did get some useful tidbits from that girl, I still need to take one of you others with me for a little more information."

"Obito, Rin," Kakashi whispered. "I'm going to distract him. When I give the signal, run as fast as you can!"

"What!" exclaimed Obito. "I'm not going to let you do that, you're injured!"

"I'm the jonin in charge of this mission," retorted Kakashi. "It's my responsibility to make sure that you get out alive. Now are you going to go or am I going to have to knock you out?"

Obito glared at him, but then nodded sullenly. "We'll see you outside, OK?"

Kakashi smirked. "Obviously. Now, go!"

Obito and Rin started running for the entrance. However, their way was blocked by the Iwa nin.

"I'm not going to let you escape!"

Before Obito could reply, Kakashi leapt in front of them. He held out his palm and glowing chakra began to gather in it. "Chidori!" The air was filled with the chirping of one thousand birds.

Kakashi glanced at his teammates, his dark eyes ordering them to go, before charging at the enemy shinobi, surrounded by his crackling chakra.

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Obito dodged a falling rock before pushing Rin out of the cave. Standing in the entrance, he peered into the cave, but even with his Sharingan, all he could see was the electric glow of Kakashi's chakra as the teen fought with the Iwa nin. "Hurry up, Kakashi!" he called. "The entire cave's about to fall in!"

Kakashi didn't answer. With a curse, Obito dashed back inside. But before he could get too far, he was bombarded by more falling rocks. He tried to dodge them, but a large boulder hit his leg, pinning him to the ground. The black-haired teen's eyes went wide as he felt his bone break. More rocks pelted him, inflicting a great number of cuts and bruises onto the Uchiha's helpless body. He struggled weakly to escape, but he was unable to lift the boulder.

Then the boulder shattered into pieces and he felt a pair of strong hands lifting him.

"Kakashi…" Obito whispered.

"Who else would save your sorry ass?" Kakashi smirked. "Don't move, your leg is broken and I think you have a concussion." With that, he placed his teammate on the ground by the entrance and turned to go back in.

"Wait! You can't go back in!" Obito cried.

"That Iwa nin is a danger to Konhagakure," Kakashi said. "It's my duty to kill him before he can escape with whatever he learned from Rin." He took a step and then turned back. "Obito…you taught me how important one's comrades are. I'll be back, I promise." His eyes curved up in what Obito realized was the first time he had ever seen Kakashi smile. Then the white-haired teen was gone.

Obito lay there helplessly as more and more rocks began to fall, released by the enemy shinobi's jutsu. Then with a huge crash, the cave ceiling collapsed.

The Uchiha tried to stand up, but he could only raise his head before everything started spinning and darkness began creeping in at the edges of his vision.

"KAKASHI!!!" he cried out.

Then, everything went black.

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**PLEASE review and tell me what you thought, not to sound whiny, but it would mean SO much to me to know that there actually ARE people reading this.**

**the next chapter is coming soon!**

**till then,**

**-stormwolf527**


	2. From beyond death, hope

**all of the story alerts and reviews have inspired me to write...so here is chapter 2!**

**please read and review! **

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"_KAKASHI!!!" Obito cried out. Then, everything went black._

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When Obito woke up, he was lying in the Konoha hospital. Rin was sitting on a chair next to his bed, and her eyes widened when she saw him glance at her.

"Obito! You're awake!"

"Yeah…" said Obito, but then he remembered. The mission, the cave, Kakashi. "What happened? Where's Kakashi? Is he OK?"

Rin's happy smile faded. "Obito…" she whispered. "Kakashi's dead."

Obito's eyes burned and he felt as if he was going to be sick. "That can't be true! That bastard promised me that he would meet us outside!"

Minato walked in. "I heard you were awake," the blonde jonin said, playfully ruffling Obito's hair.

"Sensei…" Obito said. "What happened? How did I get here? And what happened to Kakashi?! There's no way that he's dead!"

"Slow down," said Minato, holding out his hand. "I don't know the whole story, but I can tell you what I know. While doing my job of distracting the Iwa nin, I got this feeling that something bad had happened to the three of you. By the time I finally got myself over to where you were, I saw Rin lying unconscious on the ground and you, also unconscious, a few feet away, next to the remains of a collapsed cave. There was no sign of Kakashi. I woke Rin up, but all that she didn't know what had happened."

Rin nodded. "It was all like a dream for me—I can't remember anything after I was captured."

"I looked for Kakashi but all I found was this," Minato held up a hitai-ate that Obito recognized as Kakashi's. The jonin's blue eyes were bright with tears. "You were badly injured so I brought you here. Obito, what happened in the cave?"

Obito took a ragged breath and began...

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It was a month after the mission that had changed Obito's life forever.

Obito now showed up even later to training. He still spouted lame excuses, but Minato and Rin could tell that his heart wasn't in it anymore. The Uchiha now spent a lot of time by the memorial stone. He was there now, fingers tracing the name carved in the stone.

Hatake Kakashi.

His eyes burned but remained dry. Obito hadn't cried since his friend's death.

"Kakashi…you stupid fool!" The black-haired teen cried. "Why did you have to be so fucking noble?!"

He felt a hand on his shoulder and felt Minato's chakra signature by his side. Rin was there too, and she gently placed some red roses next to the gravestone. The three of them stood there silently for a moment.

Rin was sad. _I never got to tell you what I felt about you,_ she thought. _It's my fault that you're dead. If you hadn't come back to save me, then none of this would have happened._ Her heart ached but she knew that Obito was on the verge of breaking and she had to be strong for him.

Minato was angry. Angry that his student had had his life taken away from him so young; angry at the unfairness of Kakashi's life. _Children should never have to go to war. _Yesterday, the Sandaime had explained to him that he was retiring and had asked Minato to take his place. Minato had accepted. As he looked at the memorial stone he vowed to protect the village with his life, so that no more children would die in war.

Obito couldn't put a name to his emotions. He had just felt like he was starting to know Kakashi when the other teen was taken away from him. He still had no idea what had prompted Kakashi to sacrifice himself for him. But he vowed to protect his comrades. He would never let a teammate die on him again. Never. He owed it to Kakashi.

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Suddenly, the trio heard a commotion. "It's happening by the front gate, let's go!" exclaimed Obito, sounding like his old self again.

The jonin and two chuunin ran towards the gate. When they got there, they saw a group of figures. Two men wearing Konoha hitai-ates were talking to the gate guards.

"We need to talk to Sandaime-sama or Namikaze-san immediately!" exclaimed one of them between gasps for breath. Then he saw Minato. "Namikaze san, thank kami you're here!"

"Tanaka-san?" Kimura-san?" asked Minato. "I thought that you two were on a mission to examine the movement of the Iwa nin's on the borders of the Fire Country—what are you doing here?"

Tanaka, a tall jonin with short brown hair nodded, as he gestured to his partner Kimura, a younger jonin with spiky red hair. Tanaka's voice rumbled as he spoke. "We were…until we found him."

Tanaka moved aside to reveal a third person, who lay unconscious in Kimura's arms.

Minato, Rin and Obito all gasped because even though he was covered in wounds and his hair prevented them from seeing his face, there was no mistaking who he was.

Hope was building inside of Obito's chest, mending the heart that he hadn't accepted was broken. Finally, he spoke, half-fearing that the moment he said the name it would be taken away from him.

"K-Kakashi?"

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**sorry if these chapter are short, don't worry though, they will get longer!**

**thank you to the following reviewers, you really made my day!:**

Tharrow: **I'm happy that you like it so far. While the 'reunion' isn't going to come next chapter, it will definitely come!**

MikaSamu: **I'm glad you enjoyed it, and there are plently more little plot twists to come, I can promise you that!**

**Also thanks to **Bj21 **for favoriting this story after only one chapter, you rock!**

**reviews make me jump for joy and inspire me to write, so please tell me what you think.**

**till next time,**

**-stormwolf527**


	3. Eavesdropping and Explainations

**I apologize in advance for the extreme shortness of this chapter!**

**however, there was no better way to seperate this chapter from the next one...**

**besides i wanted to publish a chapter today as a birthday gift to myself--that's right, i am another year older!**

**but don't worry, because the next chapter will be the longest yet, and it will be uploaded on Friday!**

**here we go!**

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Obito paced outside of the hospital room. Besides him, Rin gently laid her hand on his arm.

"Calm down," she whispered. "You know that Sensei will come out when they're done fixing up Kakashi and tell us what happened."

"I know," Obito sighed. "But it's just so damn _frustrating_!" His thoughts were swirling. How could Kakashi be alive? The image of the white-haired boy's broken body kept replaying in his mind. What the hell had happened to him?

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

Inside the hospital room, all of the medic nins that could be spared were gathered around Kakashi's bed, along with Tanaka, Kimura, and Minato. The white-haired boy was covered in numerous cuts and his clothing was torn, but he was breathing steadily as the medics worked on him.

"Kimura, tell the Hokage what has happened." Tanaka ordered his partner.

"Hai Tanaka-senpai." Kimura said, vanishing from the room with a 'poof'.

"Tanaka-san, where on earth did you find him?" asked Minato. The blonde was ecstatic about the return of his student, but also angry at the treatment that he had received and disappointed with himself. _Maybe if I had just looked harder for him then none of this would have happened…_

Tanaka cleared his throat. "Kimura and I were patrolling the border when we found him. Well actually, we first found the hideout of a bunch of Iwa nins. We disguised ourselves and infiltrated it when we found him. They must have just finishing torturing him because he was lying in a pool of his own blood. To tell the truth, he was barely breathing."

Minato's gaze was icy as Tanaka continued. "So we gave him some emergency relief and busted him out of there. It wasn't hard—the entire place was undermanned. According to the one we left alive to question, your kid wasn't a very cooperative captive." The jonin sounded impressed. "They definitely underestimated him because he managed to kill some of the ones that came in to interrogate him the first time, even in the state that he was in."

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"Interrogate him the _first_ time…" Obito whispered. Even though the two jonin spoke in muffled voices so not to disturb the medics, by peeking in through the keyhole Obito was able to use his Sharingan to read their lips and relay the conversation to Rin. _So he didn't tell them anything, even though they tortured him…_and_ he even managed to kill some of them! If I was in that situation, there was no way that I would be able to do that..._

Tanaka continued to talk. "After that, they had to chain him but according to the Iwa nin we captured, he still wouldn't talk. That's when they started torturing him."

Now Minato's expression was so cold that Obito found himself shivering. "What kind of torture?"

Tanaka shrugged. "I'm not sure; he was unconscious for most of the journey back. He'll have to tell you himself when he wakes up. But it was really bad, Minato." The brown-haired jonin's voice was troubled. "Minato—they blinded him."

Obito missed his sensei's reply as he had slid to the floor in disbelief.

"Obito?" Rin asked. "What happened?"

Obito's voice shook as he repeated the words. "Kakashi's blind."

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**CLIFFIE!!! how will everybody deal with this new twist? find out next time!**

**yes, this chapter was short, but please don't be mean about it because like i said the next chapter will make up for it!**

Kakashifan9: **i doubt that i will ever get tired of recieving reviews, so thank you so much for yours! I'm glad you like the story so far, and yes, it is very good to have friends ^.^**

bj21: **as you can see, all is not well for poor kakashi...but it will get better! thanks for reviewing!**

The Candy-Kage: **oops, sorry for the cliffie and the short chapter...but like i said, it will get longer! thank you for not only reviewing, but favoriting both the story and me, as well as putting both of us on your alert lists! You rock!**

kakashifan7: **lol i think it's funny how there's a **kakashifan7** and a kakashifan9...anyway, thanks for reviewing and i hope you liked this chapter.**

**Also, thank you **bj21**, **enteryounamehere5, Seishou-chan, The Candy-kage, **and** thorthehero **for favoriting this story!**

**there is no better birthday present i could think of then recieving some reviews ^^**

**see you friday!!!**

**-stormwolf527**


	4. The Pride of the Shinobi

**this is the longest chapter so far, please enjoy!**

**also, i realized i forgot to add a disclaimer so:**

**no, i don't own naruto or any of its characters, why would you think that anyway?**

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_Voices. They echoed through his pain-hazed world. Though the pain prevented him from understanding what they were saying, he could tell that they sounded worried._

Kakashi woke up, experiencing a brief second of panic when he couldn't see a single thing, before reality came crashing back down. Even after a month, he still wasn't used to being blind and he mentally cursed the Iwa nins who had taken his sight before he realized that he wasn't in any pain. He had to admit that was a surprise, though a nice one.

_Where am I? _

He heard a voice, crisp and professional. "Hatake-san is awake, please inform the doctor."

_So I'm in a hospital. _

Then, Kakashi heard a bright voice exclaim "It's good to see you're finally awake, 'Kashi-kun!"

_Only one person is that annoyingly cheerful…_

"Sensei..."

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"Sensei…are Obito and Rin okay?"

Minato smiled. _So his teammates are the first thing that he asks about. He's changed. _"They're fine, but I don't think either of them has slept a wink since you returned."

Kakashi nodded, but his face was blank and he looked like his mind was somewhere far away.

Minato's heart ached for his student who had gone through things no child should ever have to.

"Sensei…I know that they're worried about me, but could you not tell them that I'm awake just yet?"

Minato looked at his student quizzically, but then painfully remembered that the white-haired teen was blind. "Why?" the blonde asked.

Kakashi motioned to his scarred eyes. "I don't want them to see me like this just yet."

Minato heard the pleading in the teen's voice and sighed. The doctor was impatiently motioning for him to leave so that he could check on the boy. "Okay." Then he grinned. "But don't think that you can escape your team forever, 'Kashi-kun!"

With that, the blond gave Kakashi's snowy hair a vigorous ruffle and exited the room.

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_I hate this place, _thought Kakashi angrily. The white-haired teen had never been a fan of hospitals and being stuck in one was slowly driving him crazy, even though it had only been for a few days. _I have got to get out of here._

Kakashi tossed aside the blankets on his bed and shakily stood up, gripping onto the side of the bed for support. Slowly he explored the room, stopping when his hands found a window. Inching it open, the teen was glad to discover that the window ledge outside was wide enough for him to stand on.

Phase 1: success.

_But as much as I hate to admit it, I won't be able to find my way around the village by myself. _Closing his eyes, Kakashi focused his attention inwards as he had done since the age of three, until he could sense each of his chakra pathways. Despite the fact that his chakra level wasn't at 100% yet, Kakashi noted with satisfaction that he had enough to carry out his plan. He bit down sharply on his thumb and slowly formed hand seals, gaining more speed as his body remembered the many times he had performed this particular jutsu.

Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram…

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Kakashi called, as he slammed his hand on the stone surface of the window ledge.

A few seconds later, he heard a familiar gruff voice. "Hey kid, it's been a while—wait a sec, what happened to you!?"

Kakashi sighed. "It doesn't matter, Pakkun. Just help me get home, okay?"

"Sure thing, kid." the pug replied.

With Pakkun by his side Kakashi took off, trusting his summon to tell him when to change direction or warn him of obstacles. Besides that, the dog was silent, which Kakashi appreciated. Though he trusted Pakkun with his life, the teen wasn't ready to explain what had happened to him. He still was having problems comprehending the events of the past month; the thought of talking to somebody else about it was daunting.

"We're here, Kakashi." Pakkun said.

Kakashi snapped out of his thoughts. "Ah, thanks Pakkun." He reached into his pocket for the key to his apartment, before remembering that he was clad in a thin hospital gown.

"Damn! Pakkun, would you come here for a moment?" The dog trotted over and Kakashi retrieved the spare key that he had stashed a long time ago underneath his favorite summons' collar, giving the pug a scratch behind the ears for good measure.

Carefully, he inserted the key into the lock and opened the door. Pakkun walked ahead of him as the teen re-familiarized himself with his apartment. Thankfully, the landlord had apparently not known of his presumed death, as none of his stuff had been moved.

"I can't wait to put on some proper clothes!" Kakashi told Pakkun as he entered his bedroom. It seemed unchanged since he had left it a month ago, expecting to only be gone for a few days at the most.

_That mission seems like a lifetime ago…_

Pakkun coughed. "Well, if you don't need me anymore, I'm going home. Take care, kid." With that, Kakashi heard a faint 'pop', and knew that the pug had vanished. Finding his way to his closet by touch, Kakashi dressed in his shinobi clothes, releasing a sigh of relief as he pulled on a mask and covered the lower half of his face. It had made him uncomfortable in the hospital to know that his expressions were so visible. Feeling a little better, he collapsed onto his futon, only to spring back up again as he heard a voice.

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"I figured I'd find you here, 'Kashi-kun!"

"How long have you been watching me, sensei?" demanded Kakashi. "You're almost as bad as Jiraiya-sama!"

"I'm not _that _perverted!" exclaimed Minato with mock hurt. "You shouldn't be so mean to your sensei, 'Kashi-kun."

"Well if you came to make me go back to the hospital, you're wasting your time." Kakashi said sulkily. "I'm fine."

Minato knew that his student was obviously _not _fine, but also knew that sending him back to the hospital would not accomplish anything as all of the teen's external wounds had already been healed. It was the mental injuries that Minato was worried about. He had noticed that Kakashi had avoided letting him see his face

"I'm sure you are," he said instead. "No, I came to bring you this." He handed his student a strip of cloth with a metal plate carved with the village symbol affixed to it.

Kakashi fingered it for a moment. "My hitai-ate…arigato, sensei."

Minato smiled even though he knew Kakashi couldn't see it. "I found when I was searching for you after the incident in the cave." Even though he was dying to know what Kakashi had experienced, he knew that asking the white-haired teen would be the wrong move. Kakashi would tell what had happened to him only when he was ready.

"Aren't you going to put it on?" the blonde jonin asked, seeing that Kakashi was still holding the hitai-ate in one gloved hand.

"Sensei…" Kakashi trailed off, sounding uncertain. "Do I still deserve to wear this?" For the first time since Minato had arrived, Kakashi lifted his head and looked directly at Minato, motioning to his scarred eyes as he did so.

Minato blanched. Each of Kakashi's eyes had multiple slashes through them, which still were raw-looking despite the hospital's treatments. _What kind of sick freaks would do this to a child? _He hid his horror and anger with a quick cough as he moved to the teen's side.

"Kakashi…" the jonin murmured. "You will always be a shinobi of Konoha. When you were on your mission, you proved yourself to be a true jonin. And even when you were captured, you remained strong and didn't give in. Your blindness doesn't change anything, I can think of no other shinobi who is more worthy to wear this hitai-ate than you. I'm proud of you, Kakashi." The blonde reached out to hug his student, only to retreat when the white-haired teen flinched at his touch. Minato took a deep breath in order to control his rising desire to test out his new Rasengan technique on the first available Iwa nin, instead gently removing the hitai-ate from Kakashi's unresisting hands and tying it over the teen's forehead, ruffling his student's white hair as he did so.

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Kakashi frowned a little underneath his mask, knowing that his sensei's gaze was fixed on his sightless face, but he then had to stifle a smile as an instance, Minato's manner flashed back to its normal boisterous one. He also had to admit that the feeling of the hitai-ate tied across his forehead was also a part of his happiness. It felt so _right_, as if a piece of himself that he hadn't even realized was missing had been restored.

It was good to be a shinobi of Konoha again.

"C'mon, 'Kashi-kun." Minato said cheerfully, steering him out the door.

"Ano... where are we going, sensei?" Kakashi asked warily.

"You do have two _other_ teammates, Kakashi." Minato responded. "Now let's go, they're waiting for us."

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**manga spoilers:who's read naruto 449? I'm so happy that kakashi got brought back to life, after I read the chapter I started jumping for joy, No joke.**

**anyway...I hope you liked this chapter, even though there wasn't any obito, he will definitely be in the next one!**

Rangerfan58: **thanks for reviewing, soon all will be revealed!**

bj21: **falling out of chairs can be painful, believe me i know -_- i'm glad you like this story ^^**

The Candy-Kage: **the twists have only just begun--i've got a lot in store for poor kakashi! thanks for reviewing!**

**i gotta a lot of hw this weekend so the next chapter may take a while, but it will come (i promise)!**

**thanks for reading,**

**-stornwolf527**


	5. Reunion

**chapter 5 everybody!**

**sorry for the wait, but hopefully the fact that it is my longest chapter yet makes up for it.**

**lots of angst ahead, so be prepared!**

**enjoy!**

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"I'm bored," Obito whined as he stood with Rin at the training grounds. "When's sensei going to come back?"

"I don't know," Rin replied, a little crossly. The black-haired teen looked at the kunoichi and decided to be silent. He had to admit that he had been complaining ever since Minato had vanished about fifteen minutes ago with a cheerful promise to return shortly and he could tell that even though his teammate was calm by nature, he was getting on her nerves.

He knew that he had made the right decision when Rin sent a barrage of senbon at one of the training dummies, each one striking the dummy's 'vital organs' with incredible accuracy. Obito winced slightly as each one hit. Though Rin's serene expression did not change, he could tell that on the inside she was obviously as agitated as he was.

_Note to self: _never_ mess with Rin when she's in a bad mood. Medic nin or not, she looks freakin' scary right now—I'm glad I'm not that training dummy…_he winced again as a well-thrown shuriken sliced the dummy's head clean off. _REALLY glad._

"Wow, Rin," Obito gulped as he looked at the remains of the dummy. "You've really improved."

Rin's brown eyes shone, her former annoyance gone. "You think so, Obito-kun? Ever since what happened in Earth Country, I've been coming here every morning to practice."

Obito was taken aback. _She's been doing this every morning as well as training with me and sensei? That's crazy!_

Rin's gaze became downcast. "If I had been stronger on that mission, then everything would have been okay. What happened to Kakashi was all my fault."

"No, it was mine." Obito replied. _If only I hadn't been so stupid and gotten trapped by that boulder. Then, Kakashi would've been able to kill that Iwa nin quickly instead of using up energy getting me to safety._

"Do you think he's OK?" Rin asked softly. Their sensei had told them that Kakashi was stable but they weren't allowed to see him. Something about the way that he said that had struck Obito as fishy but he had dismissed the thought as soon as it had come.

"Of course!" The goggles-wearing Uchiha replied, trying to make his voice sound upbeat. "No matter what, Kakashi always lands on his feet; he'll be fine in no time at all!"

_I hope…_

Then, the black-haired teens saw a golden flicker in the distance. "Look!" he exclaimed, pointing through the trees that surrounded the clearing.

Soon enough, Minato came bounding through the trees, the sunlight lighting up his distinctive golden hair. But the Yellow Flash wasn't alone. One of his hands was on the shoulder of another, guiding him through the trees.

Obito felt his face break into a grin of its own accord. Beside him, Rin gasped as the hair of the second figure caught the light. It gleamed silver.

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

Kakashi felt the sunlight on his face as Minato finally slowed to a halt. Then, the white-haired teen heard a gasp, and in the next second he was pulled into a fierce embrace. Even though Kakashi had been expecting it, he still wasn't able to control the flinch that occurred every time somebody touched him.

_Damn! I really need to work on that—a shinobi must always be in control of his body._

He guessed that Rin had noticed too, as she quickly drew back from him. Kakashi knew that her worried brown gaze was focused on him. But she didn't remark on it, for which he was grateful.

"I'm glad that you're awake, Kakashi-kun." The kunoichi said. Kakashi chose not to mention that he had actually been awake for days, nodding silently instead. He could tell by the scent that they were at their usual training grounds. The young jonin moved his head from side to side, using his remaining senses to visualize the scene. Rin was a few feet in front of him, while Minato was besides him, ready to steady his student if he faltered. Then, he heard soft breathing from somewhere behind Rin.

_Gotcha!_

"You can stop skulking around, Obito, I know you're there."

"I wasn't skulking!" Obito retorted, abandoning his attempts to be silent.

"Sure you weren't."

"Why, you—!"

But what came next surprised him. Obito's voice dropped and he mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "things weren't the same without you".

_Did he just admit that he missed me?_ Kakashi wondered. He decided to consider that later, realizing that the Uchiha had become strangely silent.

"Are you crying again?" the white-haired teen asked with a smirk.

"I wasn't crying!" Obito protested hotly. "I just got some dirt in my eyes!"

"You're wearing your goggles…" Rin said exasperatedly, though there was laughter in her voice.

Kakashi's smirk turned into a genuine smile, though it was hidden beneath his mask. _It's good to know that some things haven't changed. _

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

Minato smiled as he watched his students. Obito, scrubbing his eyes with the back of his hand; Kakashi, taunting the other boy; and Rin, standing between them with a small smile on her face.

_It's almost like old times…_

"Well?" the blonde jonin asked his students. "Show me what you've been practicing."

Obito and Rin nodded and turned together to face him, their hands reaching for their weapons pouches.

"You too, 'Kashi-kun!" Minato said cheerfully.

The white-haired teen was obviously surprised, but joined his teammates as they prepared to fight their sensei.

Minato nodded approvingly, as they moved into a fighting formation with Kakashi in the center.

_Now let's see how well you work together._

"Begin!"

Instantly Obito leapt for him, his eyes swirling red as he activated his kekkei genkai. Rin ran to the left, aiming to get behind him. Kakashi's head was tilted in concentration as he moved to the right, a kunai in each hand.

Minato grinned. _They're trying to surround me…good._

"Katon! Gokakyu no Jutsu!" cried Obito, as he released one of his clan's signature fire jutsus. At the same time, Rin let fly a barrage of senbon. As he dodged their attacks, Minato noticed that Kakashi's hands were twitching on his kunai, as if the teen was deciding whether to throw them or not. A second later however, the blades flew swiftly towards him. Minato's cheerful smile flickered as he effortlessly evaded the attack.

_He doesn't trust himself to accurately attack without his sight. That second of indecision could be fatal in a real battle._

The blonde jonin sent Rin and Obito flying as they attempted to attack him from behind.

_And they aren't used to working with Kakashi anymore. They've left him vulnerable and don't even realize it._

He heard Obito curse as the black-haired teen realized this very fact, but it was too late. As both Obito and Rin struggled to get up and help their teammate, Minato held his kunai to Kakashi's throat.

"It's over."

Then he realized that Kakashi had started to shake, his small body rocking back and forth.

_On second thought, it might have been a bad idea to hold a knife to his throat after what he's been through. Crap._

As the Yellow Flash attempted to calm his student down, an ANBU appeared next to Minato.

"ANBU-san," the blonde jonin said politely. "Do you need something from me?"

The Bear masked figure spoke impassively. "Namikaze-san, Sandaime-sama requires your presence."

Minato had to fight to keep his emotions in check. _Now of all times?!_

"Go, sensei!" Rin piped up, both her and Obito having managed to materialize by his side. "Obito and I will take care of Kakashi."

Minato nodded. "I'll be back." With that, the Yellow Flash and ANBU vanished.

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

After their sensei's disappearance, Obito and Rin stared in shock at their shuddering teammate.

"What's wrong with him, Rin?" Obito asked, dismayed. To see Kakashi—Kakashi, the strong, perfect shinobi—like this was just so fundamentally _wrong._

"I'm not sure," Rin replied, sounding as distressed as he was. Obito knew that at that moment they were both sharing the same thought.

_What did they do to him to cause something like this to happen?_

Obito was about to go over to Kakashi and shake him like crazy in order to snap him out of whatever hell he was currently occupying when Rin held out her hand to stop him.

"Don't," the kunoichi whispered. "Touching him might only make it worse."

Obito nodded, albeit unhappily. Instead, he crouched next to his teammate and started talking, hoping that the sound of a familiar voice might help. He told Kakashi about what he ate for breakfast, about the old woman who had suckered him into carrying her groceries home for her this morning, about his young cousin Itachi, anything that came into his head. He realized that he was babbling but he didn't care. "Kakashi. It's ok, Kakashi."

Suddenly, Kakashi stirred. "Obito?" he whispered.

"Yeah," the black-haired teen replied, his voice shaking. "It's me."

"Stay with me," Kakashi whispered, so soft that Obito almost missed his words. "Don't leave me alone."

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

The kunai had brought back memories of laughing Iwa nins that Kakashi had sought to repress.

"_You know, if you just tell us what we wanna know, we can put you out of your misery."_

"_This one's a pretty closed-lipped bastard, remember what he did to Kuyomi?_

A kunai caressed his neck as its owner spoke, almost gently.

"_Don't worry, by the time I'm through with him, he'll be begging for me to let him talk."_

Kakashi gritted his teeth and waited for the pain.

Then he heard a voice.

"Kakashi. It's ok, Kakashi."

"Obito?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Stay with me," Kakashi whispered, still lost within the pain and fear. "Don't leave me alone."

Slowly, the presence of his friend besides him brought the white-haired teen back to reality. Realizing that his face was wet, he held a still-shaking hand to his cheek, feeling tears spilling down between his fingers.

_For all of my brave words, this is how easily I break down. I'm pathetic. _

Half-expecting for the Uchiha to make a snide comment about who was the crybaby now, the white-haired teen was surprised to hear the other boy instead ask softly "Are you all right?"

Kakashi didn't respond. Straightening up, he brusquely shook off Obito and Rin and started running.

He ran through the forest, trying in vain to let the pounding of his feet on the ground drown out his thoughts, tree branches lashing at his body. He ran until he was gasping for breath and had a cramp in his side, and even then he would have kept running except for the fact that he tripped over a tree root and fell.

Unable to find the strength to get back up again, the teen just sat there on the ground. He hated his teammates for having seen him so helpless. He hated himself for being so weak. Paying no attention to his aching body—_I deserve it anyway—_he gulped for air.

Eventually through the sheer force of will that had kept him alive for the past month, Kakashi calmed down, though his breaths still came in shuddering gasps. He felt blood oozing from a cut on his upper arm and, almost robotically, bound it with a length of bandage. However that simple act brought on more guilt as he remembered the med-pack that Rin had given him as a gift for becoming a jonin, almost another lifetime ago. Rin, and Obito. The two who he had left back in the clearing after they had helped him recover from his memories. The white-haired teen clenched his fists as he remembered how he had just stood there shaking, unable to do a thing about it, while his teammates fussed over him. In his mind's eye, he saw Obito and Rin look at him with pity in their eyes at how far he had fallen.

_I don't deserve to be called a shinobi._

Angrily, Kakashi grabbed his hitai-ate and yanked on it. However, the strip of cloth didn't come completely off of his head as he had intended. Instead, it slid down over his scarred eyes, where it quickly became soaked with tears.

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

"You called for me, Hokage-sama?"

"Ah, Minato. Please sit down; I have some important news to share with you…"

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

**Hopefully that wasn't too horrible...**

**So many reviews for the last chapter, you rock guys!**

ninbunny alchemist: **i know right now this story is similar to another (it's called shards of the heart, and i totally recommend reading that as well!) but there is another big plot twist on the way that will definitely set this story apart! thanks for reviewing!**

kakashifan7: **it's the reviews of people like you who help me update fast, this chapter might have taken a little longer, but i hope you liked it!**

al3n3a: **i'm glad you like my story, thanks for reviewing!**

bj21:** i've always gotten the feeling that kakashi hates hospitals...too bad masashi kishimoto makes him spend so much time in them...**

kakashifan9: **kashi means 'snack', huh? well it still seems like a name minato would call him by, if he's anything like naruto then food is always on his mind 8) hope you liked the ****chapter!**

thorthehero: **wait and see,** **your hopes just might be ****answered (*grins*)**

Rangerfan58: **i'm glad you like the story so far, thanks for reviewing!**

The Candy-Kage: **get used to seeing a lot of cliffies--i hate reading them but love writing them...IRONY. anyway, good luck with your hw and thanks for taking the time to review!**

DarcSlayer: **i hope you like my story as much as i like yours! as for your question, i do plan on making kakashi and obito into a actual pairing, it's just going to take a while so for now, you can read it as a friendship.**

**thanks for reading!!!**

**-stormwolf527**


	6. Mission start!

**Hey guys...**

**Sorry about the really late update, but you know it's june and things are getting REALLY crazy (I know I FAILED my SATII). Though in my defense, I would have had this up a few days ago, but the document upload thing was being a bitch.**

**IMPORTANT**

**I have a question for you guys: what should happen to Rin? By which I mean, should she live or die? There's a poll on my profile, so please let me know what you think!**

**Anyway, please enjoy!**

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

"You want what?!" exclaimed Minato.

The Sandaime sighed. "You heard me, Minato. We have received a new mission and I need you and your team to take it."

"Can't you find another team to do it?" pleaded Minato.

Sarutobi cut him off. "Minato, like it or not, we are at war and it is the duty of the shinobi of Konohagakure to protect the village, no matter what. All of the other shinobi that I can spare are out on missions of their own, missions that might determine the future of Konoha. The information that I am sending your team to obtain will make a vital difference in the battles to come."

"But we're not ready," protested the jonin. "Kakashi—"

"Your team is stronger than you think," Sarutobi replied, sounding annoyed. "You need to have faith in their abilities."

Minato stared at the floor unhappily.

"Minato. When I retire and you become the Yondaime, you may run this village as you see fit, but until then you need to trust me."

The blonde jonin sighed. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

The Sandaime nodded in satisfaction before explaining the details of the mission. "You'll need to leave as soon as possible," he said when he was finished. "Good luck."

Minato nodded and with a few swift handsigns summoned three small toads.

"S'up, boss?" the middle one asked.

"Please tell Rin-chan, Obito-kun, and Kakashi-kun to pack some things and meet me by the front gate at dusk," the jonin instructed them. _It's only a B-rank mission, and my team is comprised of two chunins and two jonins. What could go wrong?_ Minato told himself as his toads hopped away, suppressing the niggling feeling of unease in the back of his mind.

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

Obito had been doing some solo training in the forest when his sensei's summon had found him, and now he was swiftly leaping through the trees as he headed towards the gates of Konoha. _Crap, I bet I'm really late, the others are gonna kill me! _Occupied with his thoughts, he didn't notice that he had left the woods and his body was already in the air before it realized that there were no more tree branches to support it. Gravity caught up with him and he fell flat on his face in front of the gates with a muffled 'oomph'.

"Am I late?" the black-haired teen asked, panting as he looked around. "You see, there was a—" His excuse trailed off as he realized that something was wrong. Minato-sensei and Rin were both looking down at him, smiling. But Minato's smile didn't quite reach his eyes and Rin kept on shifting anxiously from foot to foot.

The Uchiha suddenly realized the lack of a third person who should have been complaining about his lateness. "Hey, where's Kakashi?"

"Kakashi isn't here yet." Rin replied, worry for their missing teammate showing in her warm brown eyes.

_Kakashi's late?_ Obito hadn't seen Kakashi since the incident at training earlier.

_Shit, I hope he's okay._ _Even though he can be a bit of a jerk sometimes, he's still my best friend. _Obito pondered that thought for a moment. _When did we become so close?_ _He was willing to sacrifice himself for me. I still don't know why he did that._

His thoughts were interrupted by Rin's face breaking into a smile of relief. Sure enough, as he turned around Obito saw a familiar white-haired figure trudging towards them.

"Sorry I'm late." Kakashi said without emotion. Obito scrutinized his teammate. Kakashi looked different. His hitai-ate was pulled over his eyes, so that even less of his face showed than before. In certain places, the blue fabric was blotched with wetness.

_Was he crying?_

"Well now that we're all here, we can get started!" Minato said, though his cheery tone sounded a little forced. "Hokage-sama has given us a mission. It's B-ranked, and our job is to infiltrate Earth Country and retrieve a certain scroll."

_Earth Country…_Obito remembered what had happened the last time that his team had gone on a mission in Earth Country. He glanced over at Kakashi to see how his teammate was taking the news. The white-haired teen stood stoically, the small part of his face that was uncovered showing no emotion.

"Well," Minato said, breaking the silence. "Let's go, shall we?"

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x **(This is still Obito, just with a time skip. Unless you'd rather read about them running through the forest. Yeah, that's what I thought)**

"We'll stop here for the night," said Minato after the team reached the border of Earth Country and Fire Country. Obito, Kakashi, and Rin nodded as they began to set up camp. "Obito, you've got first watch."

"Seeeeeeennnnnnsei," Obito whined. "Why me?"

"Because I say so," grinned the blonde jonin. "Wake one of us up in an hour."

Obito glared at the older man before stomping off to the edge of their camp, preparing himself for a long hour.

Just as he had settled down a voice in his ear made him jump.

"You're really not very good at this, are you?" asked Kakashi, a derisive tone to his voice. "If I was an enemy shinobi, you'd be dead right now."

"Shut up!" Obito said angrily. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Couldn't sleep." Kakashi replied curtly.

The two sat in silent for a moment. Though he tried to pay attention to the surrounding forest, Obito found that his gaze kept falling back on the other teen, admiring the way that the moonlight shone off of Kakashi's spiky hair.

_It seems like your hair is just about the only thing about you that's visible to me. Your face, your thoughts: everything else is hidden…_

_And yet, I want to know more about you. Maybe then I can understand why you sacrificed yourself for me. _

Suddenly, Kakashi coughed slightly, jolting Obito from his thoughts. "Obito…I wanted to say thanks for helping me before. And I'm sorry for acting like such a jerk. You're a better friend than I deserve to have."

Obito's eyes widened with the surprise of Kakashi _apologizing_ and opened his mouth to respond, but was silenced by the other teen suddenly slapping a gloved hand over it.

"Hey!" Obito said angrily as he pushed his teammate's hand away. "I was just about to say something heartfelt, bastard!"

"Quiet!" hissed Kakashi. "I hear something!"

Obito instantly fell silent and together the two strained their ears in an attempt to hear past the sounds of the forest.

A man stumbled out of the trees. He was tall and dark-haired, but the darkness hid his other features.

"Who is it?" Kakashi whispered.

"I can't tell," Obito replied. "But he's wearing a jonin vest. I'm gonna go get a closer look."

The other teen nodded. "I'll back you up."

The Uchiha inched closer to the man until he was close enough for the moonlight to reveal the symbol on the man's hitai-ate.

"He's from Konoha!" the black-haired boy exclaimed.

At the sound of his voice, the man spun around, a kunai flashing in his hand. "Who's there?"

Obito glanced back at his teammate, and after receiving a silent nod from Kakashi, revealed himself. Now that he was in front of the mysterious shinobi, Obito instantly recognized the man. "Ikeda-sensei! What happened to you?!" Ikeda was the jonin sensei of some of Obito's peers within the village, including Kakashi's self-proclaimed rival, Maito Gai, and had been away on a solo mission for the past several weeks.

A flicker of recognition sparked in Ikeda's eyes. "Obito-kun…" he gasped. Then he collapsed, though Obito managed to catch the older man before he hit the ground. When the Uchiha pulled his hand away after laying the older shinobi on the ground, it was sticky with blood.

"Kakashi, he's hurt really bad!" Obito knelt next to the unconscious man. The jonin had several external wounds, though upon closer examination, Obito could see that none of them were too deep. No, the real problem was deeper than that. Though Obito was no medic-nin, he could tell that Ikeda had multiple internal injuries. To his relief, Ikeda was still breathing but his breaths were shallow and the pauses between each one were too long for Obito's liking.

"Move!" Rin pushed him aside, her hand glowing with healing chakra. Obito felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see his sensei. _Kakashi must have fetched them._ Minato's cheerful smile had been replaced by a worried frown that made him look too old for his years. The frown eased a little as Ikeda's eyes fluttering open. The injured man tried to sit up though the movement elicited a bout of coughing. Instantly, Rin's hands started to glow again but Ikeda kept coughing, blood spluttering from his mouth despite her efforts.

"His insides are a mess; nothing I do is working," The kunoichi said as she looked up tearfully at the others.

"Save your strength," Ikeda said, his voice coming in ragged gasps. "I'm too badly hurt…But I'm glad I managed to find you…I have vital news." He beckoned to Minato who quickly knelt before his fellow jonin. Ikeda whispered something in Minato's ear before he began to cough blood again. Minato's eyes widened. "You're sure?"

"Positive…you need to warn Hogake-sama…" wheezed Ikeda. "Look after my team for me…tell Gai-kun not to train _too_ much." Ikeda's breaths became fainter and fainter, until his chest ceased to move.

"He's gone," whispered Rin, the moonlight causing the tears on her face to shimmer. Carefully, she reached out and closed Ikeda's eyes.

_I hope you find happiness in the next world,_ thought Obito, sending up a quick prayer for the deceased man.

Minato's face was ashen. "This is not good."

"You need to go back to the village and tell Sandaime-sama Ikeda-sensei's message," said Kakashi.

"But—" Minato began before Kakashi cut him off.

"We can finish the mission on our own," the white-haired teen said firmly.

"Yes," Rin said fiercely, her eyes still bright with tears. "Get going, sensei!"

"Yeah!" Obito added, finding his voice at last. "You can count on us."

Minato looked at each of them for a second, before nodding. "Be careful." With that, the Yellow Flash was gone.

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

"How annoying," the three teens instantly stood back to back as a new voice spoke. "I've been tracking this guy for days, but when I finally catch up with him he's already dead."

Kakashi's keen ears quickly detected the location of the new arrival. "To my left," the white-haired boy hissed. "He's in a tree!"

"Got it!" Obito replied. A second later, Kakashi felt his teammate's backs tense. "He's from Iwagakure!"

_Iwagakure…_With a growl, Kakashi threw a barrage of shuriken at the enemy shinobi.

"Is that really the best you've got?" the Iwa nin asked mockingly. "You'll have to do a lot better than _that_ if you want to even scratch me. Well, since that other guy is dead, my mission is done. I guess all that's left is to kill you brats— I can't have you warning your village, now can I?"

_So he doesn't know about sensei._ Kakashi's thought was interrupted by the Iwa nin speaking again.

"Doton: Retsudotensho! (Earth Release: Split Earth Turn Around Palm)" Kakashi felt the ground beneath them begin to shake violently. _This jutsu will bury us alive if we're not careful!_

Kakashi was about to attack again, when he felt a hand on his arm. "Come on," Obito hissed. "We have a mission, remember? Let's get out of here!"

"You go," Kakashi responded, a kunai ready in each hand. "I'll distract him."

"Not a chance!" cried Obito. "Remember what you got yourself into the last time you went all heroic on us? And besides, those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash!"

"That's right!" added Rin. "We're a team!" Kakashi, not convinced, was about to argue but the kunoichi cut him off. "And don't go saying you're the jonin so you have to protect us. We're a lot stronger than we were before, and we're not leaving you behind!"

"I've lived for the past month thinking you were dead," Obito said quietly. "I'm not losing you again." Kakashi, mouth open for a retort, closed it in shock.

"How cute," sneered the Iwa nin. "But don't think that you're getting away that easily. Doton: Doryuudan no Jutsu! (Earth Release: Earth Dragon technique)"

Kakashi cursed. _Crap, that's an A-ranked jutsu!_ _And Obito's right—we have a mission to complete. We can't afford to waste time fighting this guy. _

"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Phoenix Immortal Fire Technique)" yelled Obito. Several blasts of heat whooshed past Kakashi's face.

_Multiple fireballs, perfect._

Kakashi used the opportunity to launch some kunai with paper bombs attached to their handles into the midst of Obito's technique. He could sense Rin, on his other side, doing the same.

_That Iwa nin's jutsu colliding with Obito's jutsu and a bunch of paper bombs…this is not going to be pretty…_

Kakashi smirked beneath his mask. "Boom."

Even though he couldn't see the explosion, he could feel its immensity; the combination attack would have blown him off his feet if it hadn't been for Obito's hand that was suddenly firmly gripping his.

"C'mon," the Uchiha said, Kakashi could hear a grin in his voice. "Let's go."

They ran for what was probably hours, putting as much distance between themselves and their enemy as possible. But to Kakashi, the journey seemed to span mere minutes. The same two thoughts had occupied him as his legs carried him through the trees, running over and over through his mind: Obito's determined voice—_I'm not losing you again__!—_ and the remembrance of the other teen's hand pressed against his.

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

The moon was still high in the sky and the trio had decided to stop and rest for the short remainder of the night. However none of them were even attempting to sleep; all three of them were content to quietly sit around their small fire. Obito noted how Kakashi was completely still, the moonlight once again illuminating his distinctive hair while shrouding the rest of his body in shadow.

_Kakashi…I wonder what you're thinking._ Obito remembered the white-haired teen's words from earlier in the evening. "…_You're a better friend than I deserve to have."_

_That's not true; it's me who doesn't deserve you as a friend, Kakashi._ The Uchiha's mind flashed back to the events of one month ago.

_What happened to you back then was my fault, and yet you were willing to do it again when we were fighting that Iwa nin today_._ You've saved my sorry ass more times than I can count. I wish that there was some way that I could make it up to you…_

An idea popped into being in the back of his mind.

_It might be hard, but I can live with it. I owe it to him, after all._

"Kakashi," called Obito softly. Kakashi's white-crowned head turned towards him. Looking at the hitai-ate that concealed the scarred eyes of his friend, Obito's resolve strengthened. Taking a deep breath he continued. "I want to give you one of my eyes."

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

**Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter 8-)**

al3n3a: **I'm glad you liked the last chapter, thanks for reviewing!**

bj21: **A fangirl moment? I get those all the time...why is Kakashi so damn awesome? ^^ Thanks for reviewing!**

Rangerfan58: **Not quite what you predicted, but I hope you liked this chapter anyway :D**

Googledi: **Thank you for reviewing! As for the whole seme/uke question...I haven't really decided yet, I guess I'll put it up for a vote--we'll just have to wait and see how that turns out*grins* **

The Candy-Kage: **The lucky 5th, huh? maybe you'll be the 6th for this chapter :D Anyway, your prediction was spot on, but I bet you didn't see the last part coming!!! ^^**

ninbunny alchemist: **Sakumo? Well, he is dead already, but maybe he could return in a flashback...we'll see ^^ Thanks for reviewing!**

**Please vote in the 'What will happen to Rin' poll!!!**

**See you next time,**

**-stormwolf527**


	7. Under the Shadow of the Moon

**Hey guys! Summer is finally here, and I hope that you all are enjoying it so far!**

**I myself am leaving for the airport in just a few hours to visit my relatives in London (just curious, is anybody reading this British?)**

**Anyway, my point is that I have one thing after another this summer and will not have much free time to write. So the next chapter might not come out until the end of August. I'll try to write whenever I can, but no promises. Sorry in advance :(**

**Anyway, I want to remind you that this IS a KakashixObito pairing and I am beginning to work in the romance so if you are uncomfortable with shonen ai, I would suggest finding another fic (I am a staff member of the community Kakashi Central, which features some amazing Kakashi-centric fics, the link is on my profile page if you're interested).**

**Also, please vote in the 'what will happen to Rin' poll, I need your opinion!**

**OK, I think that's it: please enjoy!**

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

"_I want to give you one of my eyes."_

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

_Give me one of his eyes?! _

"That's crazy!" Kakashi instantly exclaimed, ignoring the spark of excitement that had lit within him at the Uchiha's words. "There's no way that I'm going to let you do that!"

"Tell me honestly that you don't want to be able to see again!" Obito challenged.

"You don't understand! Being without sight, even partially, changes everything!"

"I do understand! I've seen how much it's changed you, how miserable you are. So let me take some of the burden from you! That's what friends are for!"

"It causes you to alter your entire method of fighting in order to compensate." Kakashi retorted.

"So what?! We can adjust our fighting styles together, and guard each other's blind spots! Like I said, that's what friends are for! And besides," the Uchiha added with a slight smile. "I never did give you a present for becoming a jonin."

Kakashi opened his mouth to protest further, but Obito cut him off again. "I want to do this and nothing you say can change my mind. So stop being so uptight and just say thank you already!"

The white-haired teen didn't need his eyesight in order to see the stubborn look on Obito's face.

_He's not going to take 'no' for an answer is he?_

"Thank you." the white-haired teen whispered.

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

"Are you sure about this, Obito-kun?" asked Rin.

Obito nodded. "You bet! It's nighttime though, will you be able to see?"

"There's a full moon tonight, I'll be fine. If you're ready then let's get started," the medic-nin said, her tone brisk and business-like. "Obito-kun, please take off your goggles, and Kakashi-kun, I need you to move your hitai-ate."

Obito tied his goggles around his neck, flinching a little when Kakashi pulled his hitai-ate up to reveal his heavily scarred eyes.

"Rin," Obito said, as another idea came to him. "Use my chakra to perform the operation."

The kunoichi looked at him quizzically.

"If I give him some of my chakra, then he'll be kind of like an Uchiha, right?" the black-haired teen elaborated.

Rin's eyes lit up in understanding. "That means there'll be a lower risk of his body rejecting the eye, and…" she paused as the true implication sunk in. "He might even be able to use the Sharingan!"

"That's right!" Obito said, proud of his idea.

Obito could tell that Kakashi was gaping at him, even though most of the jonin's face was covered by his mask. "Getting the Sharingan meant everything to you," the white-haired teen protested. "How could you be happy giving me the power to use it?"

Obito rolled his eyes. _How did I know he was going to object?_

"The only reason I even got the Sharingan in the first place was because of you!" Obito retorted. "So like I said, stop complaining!"

_Not to mention that you lost your eyesight in the first place because of me; giving you the Sharingan is the least I could do._

Obito allowed his mind to slip into a daze as Rin's hands, glowing bright with chakra, reached towards his right eye…

The Uchiha had no idea how much time had passed before Rin finally spoke. "Done," the kunoichi said, the intense look of concentration on her face fading away. "How do you two feel?"

"I feel fine," Obito said, smiling at the brown-haired girl as the world drifted back into focus. "You did a great job."

_She's an amazing medic-nin—I didn't even feel a thing! _

The Uchiha quickly tilted his hitai-ate to the side so that his now-missing right eye was covered by the cloth, absent-mindedly fiddling with the goggles hung around his neck as he did so.

_I guess I can't wear these normally anymore, goggles over a hitai-ate _would_ look kinda weird…_the chunin turned his thoughts away from his fashion sense and towards his white-haired teammate._ Did the transfer work? _Obito had to swivel his head from side to side in order to make up for the loss of peripheral vision on his right side, but to him the look on Kakashi's face made it all worth it.

"Obito. Rin," Kakashi whispered. "I can see you. I can _see_."

Rin peered into the transplanted eye. "It seems to be functioning correctly, and there is no sign of irritation." Kakashi nodded slowly, still dumbstruck. Eventually, his gaze refocused and like Obito he tugged on his hitai-ate so that it slanted over his missing eye.

Rin giggled as she glanced from Kakashi to Obito. "Obito with your black hair and left eye, and Kakashi with your white hair and right eye. You two look like reverse copies of each other."

Obito grinned at his teammates, but suddenly his head started spinning and the teen felt himself falling backwards as darkness enveloped him.

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

Quickly catching Obito before the Uchiha hit the ground, Kakashi set his teammate down gently.

"What happened?" he asked Rin, motioning towards the unconscious teen.

"It's alright, Kakashi-kun," Rin answered. "He's just a little low on chakra, but he'll be fine when he wakes up." The medic-nin looked quite exhausted herself.

Kakashi nodded. "You should get some rest."

Rin agreed wearily, sinking to the ground. Kakashi gently placed the sleeping Obito down at the base of a nearby tree and attempted to get some rest himself.

But once again the teen found himself unable to drift off. The need to sleep empathetically resonated in every single part of Kakashi's body, yet at the same time he felt as if he was pulsing with energy.

_This feeling must be a result of gaining some of Obito's chakra. The addition of his chakra has increased my chakra reserves and is reacting with my own chakra, giving me an increase of energy even though my body is tired. I have a feeling that insomnia is going to become a regular occurrence in my life..._

_Well,_ Kakashi thought as he gave up on sleeping, instead leaping to the top ofthe tree that Obito was lying near. _At least I have some time to think._

_It's hard to believe that so little time has passed since we began this mission…_he mused, staring up at the stars.A breeze wafted through the night, ruffling his white hair and cooling his skin.

_But now…everything is different. _

The buzzing of his chakra system reminded him of Obito's words. _"…he'll be kind of like an Uchiha, right?"_

_Rin said that I might be able to use the Sharingan…_

His fingers traced the scars that crossed his right eye seemingly of their own accord.

_Should I try it? _

The jonin tried to focus his chakra into his eye, but nothing happened.

_Okay, no big deal, just keep trying._ But his efforts were fruitless and he could tell that his new eye was remaining resolutely black.

Frustrated, Kakashi found his gaze drifting down, towards Obito who was lying where Kakashi had left him at the base of the tree. The chunin was snoring loudly causing the corners of Kakashi's mouth to twitch upwards.

_Obito…You always refuse to quit, no matter what._ _Even when your clan mocked you for not being able to activate the Sharingan, you never gave up. You showed me what true strength is, and because of that I was able to survive when I was captured. I won't accept defeat either!_

His resolve renewed, Kakashi closed his single eye, sensing the flow of his enhanced chakra network. This time, Obito's chakra responded to his will, surging to his newly acquired eye.

_I can do this._

"Sharingan!"

The edges of his vision became tinged with red, and he knew that it had worked. The Sharingan was still draining his chakra faster than it would for a true inheritor of the bloodline, but not as much as it would if Obito hadn't given him chakra. Kakashi looked around the red-lit night and smiled.

_Thank you, Obito. _

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

When Obito woke up, the moon was still high in the sky, illuminating the forest with stripes of light and shadow. Looking around, he saw Rin sleeping a few feet away, a small smile on her face. A shinobi's life was rarely peaceful and it was even harder for those who, like Rin, preferred to save lives rather than take them. Obito was glad that the kunoichi could find some happiness in her dreams. However, his scan of the area failed to locate Kakashi until the Uchiha glanced upwards and saw a dark shape in the branches above, the moonlight causing the white hair to gleam silver.

"Couldn't sleep?" Obito called softly, so as not to wake Rin.

Kakashi shrugged, leaping down from the tree and landing silently on the ground. Obito found it a little disconcerting to be looking into an eye that was once his, but matched the white-haired boy's one-eyed gaze with one of his own. The two stared at each other for a moment until Kakashi looked away, an unreadable expression on what little Obito could see of his face.

_Kakashi…_

Impulsively, Obito grabbed Kakashi's hand and pulled his teammate down until the other teen's head was resting on the Uchiha's lap. The black-haired boy then stared at the top of Kakashi's head, both shocked at his own actions and uncertain of what to do next.

_I can't believe I just did that…I can't believe that he _let_ me do that._

_More importantly, what on earth do I do now?_

Kakashi twisted his head up to meet Obito's gaze, but remained silent, instead giving a look that said 'this was your idea, _you_ do something'.

While still wondering what on earth had gotten into him, Obito saw that his hands were drifting through Kakashi's snowy hair, the smooth strands easily slipping between his fingers.

He expected Kakashi to pull away from him but to his surprise Kakashi only closed his eye and sighed contentedly.

_He doesn't flinch at my touch._ For some reason, Obito felt strangely proud of this. The full moon shone down, casting long shadows upon the ground.

Soon, Obito could tell by the slow rhythm of Kakashi's breaths that the white-haired teen had fallen asleep. The other boy looked different in sleep, softer and more vulnerable. Obito was tempted to pull down his friend's mask, but decided against it as he had no doubt that the jonin would allot a _very_ painful revenge.

_And he's been having trouble sleeping for a while, yet he fell asleep when he was with me. _The black-haired teen considered this for a moment, wondering what it meant for Kakashi to let his guard down when the jonin was around him. _I guess that means that he trusts me to protect him if there is an attack. He trusts me with his life..._

He felt a wave of emotion wash over him, something that could only be described as…tenderness? His heart felt warm in his chest.

_But…I have a crush on Rin. _But with a jolt of surprise, Obito realized that lately his thoughts hadn't been focused on how to get the brown-haired girl to notice him, but rather on his other, male, teammate.

_Rin…she's more like a sister to me now, but Kakashi…_

The revelation made the black-haired teen's head hurt, so instead he refocused his attention on his sleeping teammate.

_There might be a next to zero chance that he'll ever return my feelings but anything's possible, right?_ reasoned Obito with his usual optimism, looking up at the moonlit sky again.

_Light and shadows. It's kind of like what Rin said before about me and Kakashi. Opposites. Yet, neither can exist without the other. Nobody can deny that Kakashi and I are connected, and by more than just our eyes. He was willing to give up his life for me, and I know that I would do the same thing for him in a heartbeat. Besides, I remember my grandmother telling me once that the full moon represents power and love. That has got to be a good sign. _

The interlacing of moonlight and shadows on Kakashi's pale skin, combined with the other teen's soft breathing had a soothing effect on the Uchiha.

_I wish that we could spend more time like this. Just the two of us, under the shadow of the moon._

Slowly and deliberately, Obito planted a light kiss on Kakashi's forehead.

"Sweet dreams, Kakashi." he whispered.

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

**Ok, that's it for chapter 7, please review and tell me what you think!**

Winser: **Thank you for reviewing, I hope you liked this chapter!**

Googledi: **We're finally getting to the romance, I hope so far it's to your satisfaction ;)**

ninbunny alchemist: **I'm glad you like this story so far, thanks for reviewing!**

Rangerfan58: **Thanks for reviewing,** **I hope your questions were answered.**

bj21: **Thanks for telling me what you want to happen with Rin. However, I'm getting more votes to kill her...I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Anyway, thanks for supporting this fic!**

The Candy-Kage: **#6 ^^ And don't worry, the surprises are definitely not over yet!**

thorthehero: **Thank you for all of your suggestions!!! I'll do my best to incorporate them ^^ Thanks for reviewing!!!**

**Have great summers, everybody!**

**Til next time,**

**-stormwolf527**


	8. Battle for the scroll!

**Hey guys, I'm finally back! I hope that some people are still** **reading this lame excuse for a story...**

**Anyway, to make up for the summer hiatus, this is DEFINITELY the longest chapter yet, almost 3900 words!!!**

**I hope you enjoy!!!**

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Kakashi woke the next morning feeling warm and safe. For a second, he thought that he was four years old again and he had crawled into bed with his father because he hadn't felt that way since the White Fang's death. Then his brain kicked in, registering that the arms wrapped around him did not belong to his father and in fact the one snoring in his ear was actually—

"Obito! Get off me!" Kakashi yelped as he shoved his teammate away. The Uchiha slowly opened his eyes, rubbing at his head.

"You didn't have to hit so hard," he murmured sleepily, seemingly oblivious to the icy glare that Kakashi shot at him. "Did something happen? You're acting kinda strange." Then the black-haired teen seemed to remember something, his face turning bright red.

Kakashi eyed him suspiciously. "What?"

"N-Nothing." Obito stammered, avoiding Kakashi's gaze.

_He's definitely hiding something._ _But what? All I remember from last night was figuring out how to use the Sharingan. I must have fallen asleep afterwards…but why was _he_ sleeping with his arms around me?_ Kakashi pushed aside the thought of how nice that had felt. _Strange…that was the best night's sleep I've had for a long time. I didn't have nightmares like I usually do._

"Good morning, Kakashi-kun, Obito-kun," Rin said as she walked over to them.

Obito yawned. "Hey, Rin. Are you ready to go?"

"I'm ready but before we leave, I need to check that neither of you are suffering any side-effects from last night." the medic nin said. She examined Obito while Kakashi cleaned up their camp, dousing the smoldering remains of their fire and erasing all other traces of their presence. Dew shimmered on every surface and the sun created an array of dazzling rainbows as it touched each dewdrop. Kakashi was amazed; he had never truly comprehended how beautiful the world was before losing his sight, but thanks to Obito he was able to fully appreciate it.

"Kakashi, it's your turn!" Rin called, breaking the white-haired teen from his reverie.

"There's no sign of infection from the transplant," the medic-nin proclaimed after scrutinizing his eye. "We're good to go."

"Well Kakashi, you're team leader, what do we do now?" asked Obito.

The sight of his two teammates standing before him made Kakashi remember that they were still on a mission. He tried to forget what had happened the last time he had been charged with leading them into the heart of Earth Country.

_I'll make sure that this time will be different,_ the teen thought fiercely.

Kakashi turned his mind back to their current mission, remembering the briefing that had been given to them earlier by Minato.

"…_The scroll that we are after is in the hands of an unknown number of Iwa nin, probably mostly chunin level, maybe a few jonin. They are heading back to Iwagakure..". _

Team Minato's original plan had been a head-on attack, with the Yellow Flash using his Hiraishin jutsu while the three younger shinobi provided backup. But since Minato had returned to Konoha, Kakashi would have to change his team's strategy. "As we only number three, we cannot face the enemy head on," he told Obito and Rin, who both nodded in agreement. "Therefore, we must ambush them."

_The only question is where…_

The jonin closed his uncovered eye in concentration, visualizing a map of the Five Great Shinobi Nations.

_We're here—_he held his hand in the air, one finger marking their position on his imaginary map. _The Iwa nins will be heading here, Iwagakure. We don't know their current position and there are numerous possible routes that they could be traveling. But…_

As Kakashi's mind plotted various pathways on the map, he realized that the solution was right in front of him. _No matter which path they take, they all pass through this point. It's the only way through the mountains, which makes it the perfect spot for an ambush. _

Kakashi opened his eye, meeting the eager gazes of his teammates. "The best place for an ambush would be here…Haniyasu Pass." But as soon as Kakashi uttered the name, he froze.

_Haniyasu Pass…_

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x.

Obito watched in awe as Kakashi's fingers swiftly traced invisible lines in the air.

_The way he can instantly see all of the possible routes that the enemy shniobi could be taking is incredible; he truly is a genius!_

After a few moments, Kakashi's finger stabbed at one point in the air. Obito and Rin looked at their teammate expectantly as the jonin's eye flew open. "The best place for an ambush would be here…Haniyasu Pass." Suddenly, Kakashi began to violently shake, similarly to when they had been training with Minato.

Obito's eye widened in horror. _Oh shit. _

"Kakashi!" Rin exclaimed, dashing to his side. But despite her best efforts to wake him from his trance, Kakashi remained unresponsive, flinching away from his female teammate's touch.

It made Obito's heart clench to see Kakashi, _his_ Kakashi, acting like this. He felt himself flush at the realization that he had just referred to Kakashi, albeit mentally, as his.

"Obito, don't just stand there, help me!" the medic-nin snapped.

Remembering his actions from the last time, Obito threw both of his arms around Kakashi and started talking to his stricken teammate.

"Come on Kakashi, wake up," he whispered. "We need you."

_I need you._

He wasn't sure whether it was his physical or mental actions, but whichever it was it worked.

Obito felt the white-haired teen tense minutely at the contact but then relax bit by bit until finally he stopped trembling. His eye, which had been dull and lifeless, was once again lit with awareness.

Slowly Kakashi looked up and met his teammates' worried gazes. "Thank you," the jonin said quietly.

Obito smiled in relief that Kakashi was back to normal, or at least as normal as he ever was.

"Um, Obito? You can get off me now."

Obito realized with a start that he still had his arms wrapped around Kakashi. The black-haired teen leapt back as if burned, his cheeks pink.

"Um…so where is this Haniyasu Pass?" Obito finally asked, praying that saying the name wouldn't cause Kakashi to have another panic attack. "Do we known the terrain?"

"Yeah, we know it…or at least I do." Kakashi's voice was emotionless. "It's the site of the stronghold where I was held after being taken captive."

Obito groaned mentally. _Of all the places it could have possibly been…we have to go back _there_? Kakashi's already unstable, the last thing we need is for him to have another panic attack!_

"Are you sure that it's the best place for an ambush?" Rin asked hesitantly.

Kakashi nodded curtly. "We've wasted too much time here—let's go." He vanished into the forest. After exchanging concerned glances, Obito and Rin followed Kakashi into the woods.

They ran through the trees in silence, for which Obito was grateful as he had to pay more attention to where he was going than he ever had before. The black-haired teen was surprised with how much harder it was to run with only one eye, the loss of his depth perception caused several occasions where he narrowly avoided smashing into a branch. Thankfully, being last in line meant that the other two didn't see his near mishaps.

As they headed up into the mountains Obito noticed a barren patch of land that was dotted by scorched stones. The Uchiha remembered the two jonin who had rescued Kakashi mention how they had destroyed the stronghold in which he had been held and realized where they must be. He watched Kakashi's back carefully for any sign of a panic attack induced by the area. But apart from a slight tensing of the jonin's shoulders, the trio passed the spot without incident, and soon reached the middle of the pass where Kakashi held up his hand to signal a halt. Obito skidded to a stop behind Rin as Kakashi sniffed the air.

"There's no sign that anybody has been through this area recently," the white-haired teen said with satisfaction. "But that means we probably don't have much time before they arrive, so get ready."

They didn't have too long to wait. Soon, a group of shinobi wearing Iwagakure hitai-ates appeared, running swiftly in formation.

_Eight of them…no, nine. They're surrounding that one in the middle. He's probably the one who's carrying the scroll._ From his hidden vantage point Obito looked up at Kakashi who was stationed a few feet away. The teenage jonin was withdrawing a handful of shuriken from his weapons pouch with one hand, while keeping his eye trained on the advancing enemy shinobi.

Then the first of the Iwa nins came into range, triggering the elaborate trap of metal wire and explosive notes that the Konoha nin had set up. Kakashi dropped his hand in the signal to attack, launching his shuriken at the same time. Obito leapt forward with a kunai in each hand, accompanied by several whooshes as Rin released a flurry of senbon. Using the detonating explosive notes as a diversion, the black-haired chunin charged into the midst of the enemy with his Sharingan blazing, Kakashi at his side, while Rin stayed a little behind to cover their backs and finish off the few unlucky nins who had been ensnared in the metal wire.

Their teamwork was flawless; Obito and Kakashi weaved in and out through the smoke like wraiths, the fallen Iwa nins in their wake were the only sign of their presence. The Iwa nins had no time to launch a counter-attack. With lightning speed, eight of the nine enemy shinobi had been dispatched, leaving only the middle one standing.

"Doton—" The last Iwa nin began, but he never got the chance to unleash his jutsu. His shout turned into a gurgle as two kunai lodged in his throat. Obito landed by the dead shinobi's side at the same time as Kakashi. The Uchiha was splattered in blood, though very little of it was actually his and his quick glance at his teammate revealed that Kakashi was also largely unhurt.

The black-haired teen dug through the dead shinobi's hip pouch. "Got it!" he exclaimed, holding up an ornate scroll which he assumed was the one they were looking for. The sound of metal on metal caused the chunin to spin around. Kakashi had locked blades with a new shinobi wearing a Iwagakure hitai-ate with a scratch through the center. Rin was lying on the ground, evidently stunned, with a second shinobi bending over her poised to slit her throat.

"Rin!" Obito called as he charged the enemy shinobi. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" The huge fireball caused the new shinobi to leap aside from his intended victim with a curse. Obito landed by Rin's side, his Sharingan showing him that Rin's chakra was disturbed, revealing that the kunoichi was under a genjutsu.

"Kai!" the Uchiha whispered as he forced some of his chakra into his teammate's prone body. Rin began to stir as Kakashi and the shinobi that the white-haired teen had been fighting broke apart, the unknown nin leaping over to his partner while Kakashi appeared next to Obito and Rin.

"We didn't even notice them approaching!" Obito whispered. "And look at their hitai-ates—they must be missing-nin!"

Kakashi nodded. "They are definitely in a whole other class from those Iwa nin. They must have been following the others, probably for the scroll."

"What do we do?" Obito said, trying to match the calm, in-control tone that Kakashi had used.

"Stay focused. We have to complete the mission and get the scroll back to Konoha. And no matter how strong these guys are, I'm not going to let you or Rin get hurt—" Kakashi's eye curved up in a smile, the first that Obito had seen since his teammate's return to Konoha. "I promise."

Obito was stunned at those words which he knew the Kakashi of a month ago would never have uttered.

_You've changed, Kakashi._ Then the black-haired teen grinned. "As if I'd let you hog all the fun!"

The two sides faced off. "Give us the scroll!" the larger of the nin growled.

Obito's answer was to draw more kunai. "Come and get it!"

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

Kakashi was more on edge than he would have liked, despite his self-assured manner.

_I'm still jittery from that panic attack earlier. _Though he didn't show it, the thought disturbed him. _How can I be a capable shinobi if I start to shake at the mere mention of a name? Who knows how far it might have gotten if it hadn't been for Obito…_He studied his friend from the corner of his eye. _His touch is the only thing that can bring me back from whatever hellish recess of my mind that I go into. _

Kakashi dragged his mind back to the task at hand, adrenaline flooding through his veins and sharpening his senses. His eye flickered from side to side as he appraised the enemy pair. The one who Kakashi had been fighting was a bull-like man, solidly built with cropped black hair and small dark eyes. His partner was the opposite: small and slim with light brown hair and hazel eyes, clothes slightly singed from Obito's jutsu. Despite his scrawny appearance, the white-haired teen had a niggling feeling that this one was the more dangerous of the two.

"This must be my lucky day," the brown-haired missing nin said. His voice was melodious, yet it sent a shiver up Kakashi's spine. "I've heard a great deal about the legendary Sharingan eye of Konohagakure but I have never gotten the opportunity to see it in action before. And I see that both of you possess it. Hopefully, you'll provide more of a challenge then your little girlfriend did." He grinned as both Kakashi and Obito glared at him, meeting the two angry red eyes with calm indifference. "How very scary. Don't let your guard down even for a second, Nakamura-san," he added, glancing at his companion. "Or else you just might end up regretting it."

Nakamura chuckled. "Stay back, Hayashi, I'll handle this. These little pipsqueaks don't stand a chance against me!" He advanced, his powerful legs rapidly shortening the distance between the two groups.

Kakashi weighed their chances. The two missing nin were obviously much stronger than the Iwa nins had been. Retreating was out because while Rin had gotten to her feet, she still looked shaky. He and Obito were relatively uninjured, but still more tired than their opponents.

_We must complete the mission and I refuse to let my comrades die. _He glanced at Obito. _That idiot probably isn't going to let me hold them off alone, but at least Rin can escape._

"Rin," Kakashi hissed, snatching the scroll from Obito and pressing it into the kunoichi's hand. "Take the scroll and get back to Konoha!"

Obito had evidently been following the same thought process as Kakashi because he nodded. "Get out of here! Kakashi and I can take care of these guys!"

"But—" Rin started to protest.

"You're in no condition to fight, so go!"

With a last glance at them, Rin ran. With a growl, Nakamura charged. "Get back here!" He skidded to a halt as Kakashi and Obito blocked his way.

"You're not going anywhere!" Obito yelled.

"Cocky brats! Take this!" Nakamura slammed his hands on the ground. "Doton: Ganban Kyu! (Earth Release: Bedrock Coffin)" The earth beneath their feet started shifting, pieces of rock rising from the ground and surrounding the Konoha nin.

Kakashi dodged the flying rocks easily with the help of his Sharingan-enhanced vision, but the white-haired teen knew that he couldn't keep it up for long.

_Even with Obito's chakra, the continued use of the Sharingan is wearing me down. I only just received it and my body doesn't have the stamina of an Uchiha—I'm surprised that I've had the strength to maintain it as for long as I have already…. I'm going to have to release it soon or else I'll die from chakra exhaustion._

As if responding to his thoughts, the red tint situated at the edges of his awareness flickered and vanished. Kakashi's vision swam and he shook his head as a wave of dizziness washed over him.

"Kakashi! To the left!" Obito's cry cleared the white-haired teen's mind and he turned his head to the left to see a large chunk of rock heading straight towards him.

_Right from my blind side. Shit! _The jonin tried to move, but his body was unused to the sudden change in vision and he stumbled.

Then, something hit Kakashi, pushing him to the ground and knocking the air from his lungs. From his vantage point on the ground the winded jonin saw the boulder crash down, not upon him but on the one who had pushed him out of the way. Kakashi felt his heart skip a beat when he saw the black-haired figure that was pinned beneath the rock.

"Obito!"

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

Obito heard the unmistakable sound of ribs cracking and knew they were his own. The rock had landed on his upper body, crushing the right side of his chest in the process, but he didn't regret it. Kakashi was safe.

"Obito!" Kakashi was screaming. To Obito's surprise, the normally composed jonin seemed on the edge of breaking into tears. But after the instant of shock wore off, Kakashi collected himself and sprang into action. The teen placed his hands on the rock and with a heave, managed to shift it off of Obito's chest. Obito slowly got to his feet, clutching his chest.

Kakashi gave him a quick once-over. "I'm no medic-nin, but it looks like you have a number of cuts on your upper body, and definitely some broken ribs. These rocks are blocking that guy Nakamura's view of us so hopefully I can bind them for you before he gets here." Kakashi quickly shrugged off his pack, taking out a roll of bandage. Efficient as always, the jonin began to wrap the bandage around Obito's chest.

"You idiot," Kakashi said quietly as Obito winced in pain. "I just promised that I wouldn't let you get hurt, so why did you feel the need to do that?"

Obito coughed up blood but still managed to grin. "It's my job to watch your blind spot, remember?"

"That doesn't mean getting crushed by a rock! You could have died!"

"How is that any different from what you did for me a month ago?" Obito retorted.

Kakashi didn't answer. "Done," he said instead as he tied off the bandage.

"For a genius, you're really stupid sometimes!" Obito exclaimed. "You're my friend! And I'll do anything for my friends."

_And especially for you, Kakashi. _

He hadn't realized that he'd spoken the last part aloud until Kakashi's eye widened in shock. "Obito…you—"

_Oops. That wasn't exactly how I planned for him to find out. _

Thankfully, Obito was saved from saying further by Nakamura.

"So you brats are still alive…" the hulking missing nin said. "Well this will finish you off! Doton: Ganchuso! (Earth Release: Rock Pillars Rising)"

The earth shuddered as columns of rock rose from it in an attempt to skewer the pair. Knowing that his broken ribs would make evading difficult, Obito tried to take a breath to create a fireball but ended up coughing blood instead. Suddenly, Kakashi's hand closed around his wrist. "We can talk later," the jonin said, towing Obito with him as he dodged each pillar that erupted from the ground. "Right now, defeating this guy is more important!"

_I can't let Kakashi do all the work—I've got to think of something!_ _He's a shinobi formerly from Iwagakure. Doton jutsus are their specialty. What beats earth?_

…_lightning._

"Kakashi, I have a plan!" Obito whispered excitedly. "Remember the technique you created a month ago? The one that Sensei told you never to use again?"

"Chidori? The tunnel vision effect would leave me wide open for an opponent's counter-attack—" Kakashi's eye lit up as he realized where Obito was leading. "But with the Sharingan…"

Kakashi took a deep breath, his eye swirling red as his hands quickly formed seals. Obito watched in awe as lighting gathered in Kakashi's right hand, though the white-haired teen was already panting from the effort he was using to maintain the Sharingan. Obito moved closer to Kakashi's side to steady him, but his teammate waved him off. "Obito…you do it too."

"Do what?"

Kakashi motioned to the writhing mass of lightning in his hand. "The Chidori, idiot."

"You want me to use your technique?"

Kakashi's eye curved in another smile. "I couldn't have completed it without you. And besides, two are stronger than one. You taught me that."

Obito smiled. "Yeah. Okay, let's do this!" The black-haired teen concentrated, holding out his left hand and letting the Sharingan guide him as he replicated the seals that he had just seen moments before.

Ox. Rabbit. Monkey

"Chidori!"

The ball of lightning that grew in his hand wasn't as large as Kakashi's but it was just as bright. Obito stared at it, mesmerized by the incessant motion of the jutsu. As he held it up, it strained to the side as if it was trying to escape from his grasp. Kakashi's did the same, the lightning forking into smaller strands that stretched out towards Obito. The two Konoha nin stood there, identical looks of shock upon their faces as their Chidori leapt towards each other, their chirping intensifying. When the two Chidori reached each other they merged into one huge mass, stray sparks encircling Obito and Kakashi.

"Wow." was the only thing that Obito could think of to say though it was drowned out by the screeching of thousands of birds. The hands that he and Kakashi had used to form their original Chidori in were now in the midst of a new one. The new Chidori was massive, its glow so intense that Obito had to turn away.

"Kakashi!" Obito yelled over the deafening noise. "Any idea what just happened?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Maybe it's because of that chakra you gave me…it might have somehow caused our jutsu to become attracted to each other and combine…"

"Well whatever the reason, it's freaking awesome! Let's kick that Nakamura's butt!"

The remnants of Nakamura's rock pillars were instantly destroyed as Obito and Kakashi charged forwards, lightning flickering across their palms.

Nakamura had his back to them as he called out something to Hayashi. As the sound of the double Chidori reached his ears, the giant missing-nin turned, his eyes widening as he saw the two Konoha nin charging towards him.

"What the—"

He never got to finish. As one, Obito and Kakashi drew their lightning-coated hands back before plunging them through Nakamura's chest.

x-x-x-KakashiObito-x-x-x

**I hope you liked the chapter, please let me know what you think!**

**To my wonderful reviewers:**

Rangerfan58: **Thank you so much for reviewing!**

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bj21: **I'm happy you think this is a good story ^^ and yes, by popular demand, Rin will die...eventually.**

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**Now that summers over, you can expect more regular updates. Thanks for reading!  
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**Till next time,**

**xstormwolf  
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